Mindful youths working towards innovative plastic management

Plastic waste has been a topic of conversation for a long time now, but very few people think about reusing and disposing of it properly. Now, students from Indus International School (IIS), Mahindra International School (MIS), and Symbiosis International School (SIS) have taken the initiative to reuse plastic generated in their daily lives for public welfare.

The group Ronith Lahoti, Ronit Shende, Riyaan Lodha and Vivaan Ranka are setting up an example for other youngsters. These students encourage other students and parents to bring their household plastic waste to school once every few months. Since October 7, 2022, they have collected 167 kgs of plastic waste and put it to use since then and the count is still going on.

Lahoti, a class XI student at IIS along with his plastic warrior team has been promoting innovative plastic waste management for a year and a half now. “I saw a few videos on YouTube and WhatsApp that had details about the environmental degradation caused by plastic. Several fish and animals died due to plastic waste which made me think of doing something to address the problem of plastic waste.”

Shende said the collected plastic waste is then handed over to the Keshav Sita Foundation and Rudra Environmental Solutions for conversion to usable polyfuels. The message is being promoted through social media and websites.

The school propagates students through email and WhatsApp groups for collection of plastic waste and bringing them to the school. The IIS has kept drums at the school to collect plastic waste.

A total of 4 KM stretch will be repaired in a week at Angrewadi, and the project cost is ₹ 4 lakh, out of which the students have collected a total ₹ 2.70 lakh. The road maintenance work was started on Friday, March 22 at Angrewadi in Mulshi Tehsil. The stretch is located near the school and needs urgent repairs.

Ranka said the team reached out to multiple business groups to raise funds for the project. Kool Homes (Trimurti Group), BU Bhandari Group, Ranka Jewellers, Saarthi Group, Blue Ventures Group and Satguru Sparkles encouraged these students and contributed to the project.

The group has now embarked on the next leap in Plastic Waste Management. They have decided to execute a road project on using plastic waste for road development and maintenance. “This is the first big initiative for us, and we selected Angrewadi Village near our schools, but we want to do more projects like this,” informed Lodha.

Capt (retd). Rajiv Bali, director of administration, IIS, said, “Every month the school sends the plastic waste collected by the student to the NGO. The plastic waste is melted and mixed with bitumen for the road.”

Mayur Hadgal, manager and head of logistics and collection, Keshav Sita Foundation, said, the Indian Road Congress (IRC) have also approved the use of the technology for erecting roads made of plastic and tar. “Use of plastic with tar in making roads improves the durability and longevity of roads. This technology is considered to increase water resistance and help reduce soil pollution. It is a solution to the plastic waste problem.”